by John Keller | May 6, 2013 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
The latest OPIS report on May 3 shows average retail fuel margins in the US have dropped for the third consecutive week. This week the average retail fuel margins decreased $0.035 to $0.162 per gallon. That is the third week in a row where retail fuel margins have lowered by $0.03 per gallon or more.
This three week trend has brought the average US retail fuel margin to levels last seen March 1. Year to date average retail fuel margins continue to stand at the $0.173 per gallon level. Quarter to date average retail fuel margins are now at $0.207 per gallon.
by Grant Garrison | May 2, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Fuel Price Optimization, Fuel Pricing Software, Fuel Pricing Strategy, Fuel Pricing Technology
Speed is one of the key components of pricing optimization, as reacting to market changes faster than competitors will always keep retail fuels managers ahead of the game. Tracking the pricing strategy of all local competition enables chains to meet consumer demand with greater accuracy and efficiency. The days of sending a rep to drive around and check the prices at other stations are long gone. Now, the best possible method of ensuring pricing optimization is with application of a fuel pricing software solution.
Software offers many benefits which are unavailable with traditional fuel price analysis. Trying to track price changes via a self-developed system leads to headaches and aggravation for everyone involved. No department can be expected to become the go-to source for fuel pricing information. Tracking and recording all the changing data with in-house tools will gradually increase in complexity until it builds to total chaos. Instead of that, software pricing integration tools provide a one-stop hub where managers can access the data they need and apply it to their pricing strategy.
In order to effectively track competitor price changes, companies should obtain access to data provided by a resource such as the OPIS Radius Report. This real-time information service can gather retail fuels prices for all competitor stations within a region. Be it a 2-mile, 5-mile, or 10-mile radius, managers can use these tools to track fuel prices history in their operating environment and respond to price changes without ever leaving headquarters. It’s easier and more intelligent than it’s ever been to monitor the competition, understand their pricing strategy, and beat them to the market.
Price tracking technology has completely changed the way in which we size up the competition in the retail fuels market. Pricing reports can now be integrated with software such as PriceAdvantage to pull content directly from the report and present the data in an easily understandable interface. Making intelligent pricing decisions is no longer a complex, labor intensive task, but an effortless one. Managers can now maximize their pricing optimization by gathering the data online, porting it into comprehensive software solutions, and then instantly push any price changes to the street.
This capability to instantly visualize competitor behavior gives even non tech-savvy managers an edge in their market. It gives them the tools to react to trends and market shifts before the competition even knows what they’re doing. By the time other regional chains utilizing outdated software can react to these new conditions, the company with the right tools can be leapfrogging them to the next trend.
Don’t settle for substandard systems or business processes. Technology has made it easier than ever before to define strategy and outmaneuver competitors. Stop chasing prices and make the competition start chasing you!
by John Keller | Apr 30, 2013 | Customer News, Fuel Price Management Solutions, Industry News
Today Valero announced financial results for Q1 of this year, and it exceeded Wall Street expectations. From a fuel price management perspective, we’ll focus here on the retail division, now known as the company CST Brands.
The US Division of CST Brands had an operating income increase from $11 million in the first quarter of 2012 to $18 million in the first quarter of 2013, mainly due to higher fuel margins. Fuel margins per gallon increased from $.05 per gallon in 2012 to $0.08 per gallon in 2013. The gallons per day per site measurement held steady year over year, up slightly from 5,046 gallons per day per site in 2012 to 5,048 gallons per day per site in 2013.
The US Division of CST Brands has been using PriceAdvantage as their fuel price management system for all their retail stores since the fall of 2012. The average number of company-operated fuel sites for the quarter was 1033.
The Canadian division of CST Brands does not use PriceAdvantage as their fuel price management system. Fuel margins in Canada were the same year over year at $0.26 per gallon, but the total fuel volumes were down from 3.097 million gallons per day in 2012 to 2.987 gallons per day in 2013.
by John Keller | Apr 29, 2013 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
OPIS reported this week that average retail margins across the US dropped again. For the week ending April 26, average retail fuel margins were down $0.037 per gallon to $0.197 per gallon.
The drop in margins these past two weeks has slowed the growth in the year to date average margins, but at $0.173 per gallon, year to date margins are still the highest of the year. The six week average now stands at $0.215, just slightly above the Q1 average that was $0.212.
by John Keller | Apr 19, 2013 | Industry News, Retail Fuel Margins
According to the latest report from OPIS, average retail fuel margins across the US lost $0.034 per gallon this week. Despite the up and down margin gains and losses over the past four weeks, overall US retail fuel margins for 2013 continue to be on the rise.
The year to date average for US retail fuel margins in 2013 are now at $0.172 per gallon, up from $0.168 per gallon for the year, according to last week’s report. The average US retail fuel margin in 2013 is now the highest of the year.
The margin for the week has been over $0.16 per gallon each week since March 1. From a fuel price management perspective, that means retail fuel margins are now at a level where profits can recoup the losses that started the first two months of 2013.
by John Keller | Apr 18, 2013 | Fuel Price Management, Industry News
The Pennsylvania state house passed three natural gas tax credit programs, and sent them to the state senate for review. If passed, Pennsylvania will provide financial help for companies to convert approximately 1000 fleet vehicles to natural gas. In addition, the program provides $5m for building 10 natural gas refueling stations in high traffic corridors. The program also provides incentives to purchase heavy duty vehicles that run on natural gas.
It is too early to know for sure if the Pennsylvania state senate will also pass the program, but if it does, Pennsylvania would be one more state acknowledging the importance of natural gas as an alternative fuel. And from a fuel price management standpoint, c-stores in the state like Rutter’s, Royal Farms, and Sheetz would be wise to start planning for a time when natural gas becomes part of their fuels product portfolio so they take advantage of the new opportunity natural gas customers provide.
